TWI845918B - Computer-implemented system and method for virtual server management - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for virtual server management, comprising: maintaining a configuration file associated with a virtual server instance; receiving a role associated with the virtual server instance; determining a required virtual server configuration based on the configuration file and the role; spinning up at least one virtual server based on the virtual server configuration; determining whether the at least one virtual server has reached an error state; based on determining that the at least one virtual server has reached an error state, determining whether the at least one virtual server is repairable; based on determining that the at least one virtual server is not repairable, terminating access to the at least one virtual server; spinning up at least a second virtual server based on the virtual server configuration.

Description

Computer-implemented system and method for virtual server management

The present disclosure generally relates to computerized systems and methods for centralizing server initialization information. In particular, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems for maintaining configuration files associated with virtual server instances. The system instantiates a virtual server by determining the required resources of the virtual server from the configuration file, and configures the virtual server to provide the required resources. In this way, a single configuration management database can quickly instantiate multiple copies or replicas of a virtual server to improve performance or storage, or to recover from server failures or inefficiencies.

The proliferation of virtual servers has expanded access to large computing resources at low cost. Various companies offer virtual server resources, also known as cloud computing. In addition, companies, universities, and government organizations use virtual servers to host websites, perform complex computer simulations, and store large databases, among other services. Virtual servers provide secure, reliable, and scalable computing resources to clients, allowing them to focus on creating products rather than maintaining server capacity.

However, complex organizations that consume large amounts of virtual server resources often have difficulty keeping track of the many different configurations of virtual servers. For example, a large company may have many different operations that each require different virtual server resources and configurations. The administration department may need storage on a virtual server, while research and development may need processing for computational modeling, and the sales department may need a virtual server to host a website.

Additionally, organizations sometimes require redundancy in virtual servers. For example, a database of critical health or financial information may require double or triple redundancy to protect against hardware failures or power outages. Additionally, when a virtual server does fail or becomes unavailable, the organization must spend a significant amount of time reestablishing the same operations on a new virtual server. For organizations with many virtual servers, maintaining virtual server operations requires frequent configuration of new virtual servers. However, maintaining many different configurations for many different roles can introduce errors and inconsistencies. For example, if a virtual server fails, an employee who configures a new virtual server to take on the role of the failed server may accidentally forget the configuration settings, disrupting client and user access to server resources.

Additionally, large organizations may need to scale up virtual server resources quickly, for example if an e-commerce website is generating sales, or a research and development business is running a short-term but resource-intensive computer model. The need to configure many virtual servers reduces scalability and increases costs.

Therefore, a system and method for managing virtual servers and centralizing server initial information is needed.

One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computer-implemented method for virtual server management. The computer implementation method includes: maintaining a configuration file associated with a virtual server instance; receiving a role associated with the virtual server instance; determining a desired virtual server configuration based on the configuration file and the role; accelerating at least one virtual server based on the virtual server configuration; determining whether at least one virtual server has reached an error state; determining whether at least one virtual server is repairable based on determining that at least one virtual server has reached an error state; terminating access to at least one virtual server based on determining that at least one virtual server is unrepairable; and accelerating at least one second virtual server based on the virtual server configuration.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computer implementation system for virtual server management. The computer implementation system includes: a memory, storage instructions, and at least one processor, which is configured to execute instructions to perform the computer implementation method described above.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computer-implemented system for virtual server management. The system includes: a memory, storage instructions, and at least one processor, configured to execute the instructions to perform the following operations: maintaining a configuration file associated with a virtual server instance in a data storage, the configuration file including a list of services to be loaded; determining an efficiency metric associated with the instantiated virtual server; when the efficiency metric is below a threshold value, terminating the instantiated virtual server; access to a virtual server; and instantiating a new virtual server based on the virtual server instance by: locating the configuration file in the data storage; determining required virtual server resources based on the contents of the configuration file; configuring at least one resource of the virtual server based on the contents of the configuration file; and accelerating the virtual server.

Other systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also discussed herein.

100: Internet

102: System

104: Configuration management database

106: Computer network

108: Client device

110: Provider

112: Client device

116: Processor

118: Input/output device

120: Memory

200, 300, 400: Process

202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220, 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 402, 404, 406, 408, 410, 412, 414: Steps

FIG. 1 shows a network including a client and a virtual server consistent with the disclosed embodiment.

FIG2 is a flow chart of a virtual server management process consistent with the disclosed embodiment.

FIG3 is a flow chart of a virtual server cost storage process consistent with the disclosed embodiment.

FIG4 is a flow chart of a resource usage metric calculation process consistent with the disclosed embodiment.

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same figure numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar parts. Although several illustrative embodiments are described herein, modifications, adaptations, and other embodiments are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the components and steps shown in the drawings, and the illustrative methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, removing, or adding steps to the disclosed methods. Therefore, the following detailed description is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and examples. Instead, the proper scope of the invention is defined by the attached patent application scope.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for virtual server management.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network 100 including a virtual server resource usage metric rating system 102. The system 102 includes at least one processor 116, an input/output (I/O) device 118 that allows data to be transmitted, and at least one memory 120. The memory 120 stores a program for operating an IP classification module. The memory 120 may also store instructions for a graphical user interface (GUI).

In addition, the processor 116 may be a general-purpose or special-purpose electronic device capable of manipulating or processing information. For example, a processor may include any number of central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), optical processors, programmable logic controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, digital signal processors, intellectual property (IP) cores, programmable logic arrays (PLAs), programmable array logic (PALs), generic array logic (GALs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), system on chips (SoCs), and other devices. Chip; SoC), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and any combination of any type of circuit capable of data processing. The processor may also be a virtual processor, which includes one or more processors distributed on multiple machines or devices coupled via a network.

Additionally, the memory 120 may be a general or special purpose electronic device capable of storing program code and data that can be accessed by the processor (e.g., via a bus, not shown). For example, the memory may include any number of random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), optical disks, magnetic disks, hard drives, solid-state drives, flash drives, security digital (SD) cards, memory sticks, compact flash (CF) cards, or any combination of any type of storage device. The program code may include an operating system (OS) and one or more application programs (or "application programs; apps") for specific tasks. Memory can also be virtual memory, which includes one or more memories distributed across multiple machines or devices coupled via a network.

System 102 is connected to a configuration management database (CMDB) 104. CMDB 104 may include processors, I/O devices, and memory. The memory of CMDB 104 may store configuration files for initializing virtual servers, such as necessary resource allocations including processor speed and memory, storage variables, and connection parameters including ports and IP addresses. CMDB 104 may also store user requests corresponding to roles of virtual server resources. In some embodiments, system 102 may also operate as CMDB 104.

System 102 is connected to computer network 106. For example, computer network 106 may include any number of Internet networks, corporate intranets, local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), virtual private networks (VPNs), wireless networks (e.g., compatible with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n), wired networks, leased lines, cellular data networks, and any combination of networks connected using Bluetooth, infrared, or near-field communication (NFC).

The system 102 is further connected to a client device 108, either directly or via a computer network 106. The client device 108 may be a laptop, a stand-alone computer, a mobile phone, and the like. A user may send a virtual server resource request to the system 102 via the client device 108. In some embodiments, the system 102 may include the client device 108, such that a single unit receives user requests and creates and stores configuration files. Alternatively, the system 102 and the client device 108 may be directly connected, such that information exchanged between the client device 108 and the system 102 does not need to pass through the computer network 106.

Additionally, system 102 communicates with virtual server provider 110. Provider 110 may, for example, be a service that operates multiple servers or general purpose computers (such as a server farm) that are available for rent or purchase. In some embodiments, provider 110 may charge users for processing time, processor power, storage, or connectivity (such as bandwidth). Provider 110 may also charge users a set baseline fee for connecting to a virtual server, regardless of usage level, as a retainer to guarantee future access. Provider 110 may have servers and computers of varying capabilities, and may sell systems to users while charging maintenance fees. Other configurations of virtual server resources sold by provider 110 are also possible.

In some embodiments, client devices 112 may connect via network 106 to services hosted by virtual servers of provider 110. For example, a company may use servers operated by provider 110 to host an e-commerce website. Client devices 112 may then connect to the e-commerce website via network 106. In this way, customers may access the company's website without directly accessing a computer owned by the company, but rather interacting with a virtual server operated by provider 110. This may provide the company with the convenience of not having organic employees to operate the servers, and reduce costs by paying only for the amount of computing power the company needs. Alternatively, client device 112 may be, for example, a research collaborator that is able to share common data or computing power stored by virtual servers of provider 110 without having to operate a large server farm.

FIG. 2 illustrates the steps of a virtual server management process 200. The system 102 may perform the virtual server management process 200. Instructions for performing the virtual server management process 200 may be stored in the memory 120 and executed by the processor 116 of the system 102. The virtual server management process 200 includes the following steps.

At step 202, the system 102 maintains a configuration file associated with the virtual server instance in a data store. The system 102 may maintain the configuration file in memory 120, in CMDB 104, or on one of the virtual servers of the provider 110. The system 102 may store multiple configuration files for multiple roles. The files may be stored in a text format, a SQL database, or the like. For example, the configuration file may include a list of storage volumes for installation, such as an IP address, a MAC address, or a directory where the storage volume can be found. For example, a storage volume may also be located on a virtual server, and a configuration file may provide an identifier for the virtual server and a path to the storage volume. A configuration file associated with a virtual server instance may also include a list of services to load, such as programs, VPN information, or communication protocols. A configuration file may also include a list of environment variables to load, such as an IP address, a role name, a user identifier, or a unique identifier for the virtual server to enable the system 102 to further analyze the virtual server performance. In some embodiments, such as when a research and development organization performs computer modeling, a configuration file may also include values for scientific constants. If the organization is using virtual server storage to store archived email, environment variables can contain a list of usernames and passwords that allow users to access the archive. Additional information and metadata can also be stored in configuration files.

The system 102 can then instantiate the virtual server based on the virtual server instance corresponding to the configuration file. At step 204, the system 102 locates the configuration file in the data store. This can occur on demand, such as when an administrator initiates a request to instantiate a new virtual server, or automatically, as will be described later. In addition, a user can trigger a new virtual server to be instantiated by requesting a new virtual server resource. For example, a user can use the client device 108 to create a new role for a virtual server. The user can provide details about the virtual server resources required, such as specifying whether the role requires cache memory, storage memory, processing time, processing power, or network capacity, and further specify the amount of each resource required and whether the resource is required.

In some embodiments, an organization may have template resource requirements for various roles, allowing users to specify roles without providing technical details. In addition, such templates may be stored by system 102 as configuration files. For example, a user who is a graphic designer in an e-commerce organization may wish to create a new product site. Using client device 108, the user may communicate to system 102 that a new website will be created. System 102 may locate a configuration file for creating a virtual server to host the new website. The file may provide organizational standards for communication protocols, resource requirements, templated graphics, and other uniformities. The user may then begin designing the new product site to be hosted on the virtual server, where system 102 configures the virtual server. Additionally, configuration errors that can increase costs and reduce performance are eliminated by using standard configuration files created by trained engineers.

At step 206, system 102 determines the required virtual server resources based on the contents of the configuration file. The configuration file may include a list of required virtual server resources, and step 206 may include a list of replicated resources. Alternatively, system 102 may determine which resources are required based on information in the configuration file. For example, if the configuration file contains a port and an IP address, system 102 may determine that the role requires connectivity resources from the virtual server.

At step 208, the system 102 configures at least one resource of the virtual server based on the contents of the configuration file. The system 102 can configure the resources by uploading data, variables, and software to the virtual server. The system 102 can also enter the communication address and protocol into the virtual server connection settings. In some embodiments, the system 102 can use an API to communicate with the virtual server through the network 106 to convey the desired settings of the virtual server. The system 102 can also use automated web browsing software to automatically send information to the virtual server using the website of the provider 110. If the configuration file indicates that multiple servers are required, the system 102 can also configure multiple resources for a single or multiple virtual servers. The system 102 can also determine whether multiple virtual servers are required based on the configuration file. For example, if the configuration file indicates that the role requires 100 terabytes of storage, the system 102 can configure storage from two virtual servers if the virtual server storage is limited to 50 terabytes.

At step 210, the system 102 accelerates the virtual server. Step 210 may include communicating with other virtual servers or hardware servers to provide an identifier and address of the new virtual server to enable communication between the old server and the new server, thereby ensuring continuous operation of the role. In addition, the system 102 may delay accelerating the server after configuring the virtual server resources, for example, to perform performance testing of the new virtual server or to ensure that all virtual servers are configured before accelerating the virtual server.

At step 212, the system 102 determines whether the instantiated virtual server has reached an error state. The instantiated virtual server itself may report an error state, such as a hardware failure or a communication error, via a notification such as an email or via an API. Alternatively, the system 102 may be configured to periodically test the virtual server performance to determine whether the virtual server has reached an error state. In addition, the system 102 may determine the severity of the error state and attempt to repair the virtual server. For example, if the error state is caused by an incorrect communication setting, such as an incorrect IP address caused by, for example, corrupted data or a new desired IP address, the system 102 may attempt to reconfigure the virtual server to correct the communication error. If the system 102 determines that the instantiated virtual server has not reached the error state, or if the system 102 determines that the instantiated virtual server has reached a recoverable error state, step 212 is no, and the system 102 proceeds to step 214.

At step 214, the system 102 determines an efficiency metric associated with the instantiated virtual server. For example, the efficiency metric may be cost or speed per operation, storage, or connectivity. At step 216, the system 102 determines whether the efficiency metric is below a threshold. If the efficiency metric is not below a threshold, step 216 is no, and the system 102 returns to step 212 to continue monitoring error states or efficiency metrics below a threshold. In some embodiments, the system 102 may also wait before checking for error states to limit state requests and processing.

If either step 212 or 216 is yes, such that an error condition is detected or the efficiency metric is below a threshold, the system 102 proceeds to step 218 and determines the configuration file associated with the instantiated virtual server. In some embodiments, the system 102 may also terminate access to the virtual server when the efficiency metric is below a threshold. For example, the system 102 may determine the configuration file by matching the role identifier with the role identifier contained in the configuration file. The system 102 may also determine the configuration file by matching the resources or configuration of the failed or inefficient virtual server with the stored configuration file. In some embodiments, the system 102 may skip step 218 if there are no errors or inefficiencies. For example, a user may determine that a new configuration needs to be applied to multiple virtual servers and standardized across multiple virtual servers. The user may force the system 102 to jump to step 218 and determine a new configuration file if no virtual servers fail or become inefficient at step 212 and step 216.

Once the system 102 has determined the configuration profile associated with the instantiated virtual server, then at step 220, the system 102 instantiates a new virtual server using the determined configuration profile. The system 102 may instantiate multiple virtual servers to replace the functionality of a single failed virtual server or to create redundancy. The system 102 may allow a failed or inefficient server to continue to operate despite reduced capacity until a new virtual server is instantiated to replace the lost functionality. The system 102 may additionally provide an indication of the error or inefficiency to the user and await user approval before instantiating the new virtual server at step 220.

In addition, after the system 102 instantiates the new virtual server at step 220, the system 102 returns to step 212 to monitor the error state or inefficiency in the new virtual server at steps 212 to 216. The system 102 can simultaneously monitor multiple virtual servers performing various roles belonging to the organization.

FIG3 illustrates the steps of a virtual server cost storage process 300. The system 102 may perform the virtual server cost storage process 300. Instructions for performing the virtual server cost storage process 300 may be stored on the memory 120 and implemented by the processor 116 of the system 102. The virtual server cost storage process 300 includes the following steps.

At step 302, the system 102 configures the virtual server to associate a first role with at least one resource of the virtual server. Associating the role with the resource may require the system 102 (or virtual server) to retrieve data from the CMDB 104, such as an IP address and port. Alternatively, software, code, initial data or parameters, or digital assets may be copied from the CMDB 104 or another storage and provided to the virtual server. The system 102 may determine which resources are required by the virtual server. Alternatively, the virtual server may determine the required resources based on the role contained in the request.

At step 304, the system 102 modifies a database to include an identifier associated with the virtual server and an identifier of a first role assigned to the virtual server. The database may be, for example, the CMDB 104, the memory 120, or stored on the virtual server. For example, the database may record the virtual server identifier and the first role identifier in a SQL database. The provider 110 may provide a unique identifier for the virtual server hosting the resource, such as an alphanumeric code, a MAC address, an IP address, or a geophysical location (including, for example, a server warehouse location and a server stack location within a warehouse). The virtual server identifier may also specify the resources of the virtual server that performs the role.

At step 306, the system 102 receives a plurality of indications of resource usage associated with the identifier of the first role. The indications may be power consumption, processing duration, processor operations, bandwidth usage, storage, and the like. In addition, the indications may include a per-unit cost, such as cents per hour, cents per execution, or cents per floating-point operation. The indications may include a per-unit cost per time, such as cents per terabyte per month. Alternatively, the per-unit cost may be obtained separately from the indication of the first resource usage. In some embodiments, the indications may further include information identifying a particular virtual server or an account consuming virtual server resources. The indications may be provided by an application programming interface (API) operated by the provider 110 or provided directly by the virtual server.

In some embodiments, the received indication does not include a virtual server identifier. System 102 may then determine the virtual server identifier by matching the resource usage with other information from provider 110. For example, the received indication may contain only a list of usage, such as 23 terabytes, 29 terabytes, 51 terabytes, and 81 terabytes of storage per month. System 102 may access the provider website in an additional step to determine, for example, which virtual server stored 23 terabytes during a month, thereby obtaining the virtual server identifier to enable mapping to the first role.

After comparing the resource usage to the database or other resources (such as provider information), the system 102 may determine that the second resource is not associated with any role and terminate access. For example, the system 102 may receive an indication of five hours of processing time costing $0.20 and no virtual server identifier. After analyzing the provider information, the system 102 may determine that the virtual server that incurred the $0.20 charge is not attached to any role in the database and automatically terminate access to the server. As further shown, the system 102 may receive an indication of 2 terabytes of storage for a virtual server with an identifier of A623g.6. The system 102 may search the database for a server with identifier A623g.6 but find no associated role indicating, for example, that the user has stopped the role and no longer needs the resource. The system 102 may then automatically terminate. In some embodiments, the system 102 may automatically reassign a different role to a virtual server resource that does not have an associated role, or flag the unassociated resource for user reassignment.

At step 308, the system 102 calculates the cost of the received indication. This may include, for example, a cost ratio multiplied by resource consumption. The system 102 may also include a baseline rate that is not scaled based on usage, such as a monthly access fee for a virtual server. In addition, the system 102 may combine costs associated with multiple indications corresponding to multiple resources for a single role. For example, a role may require processing and storage from four virtual servers. The total cost for the role may be calculated as the sum of the costs of the individual virtual servers. In addition, a single virtual server may provide resources for multiple roles. For example, a single virtual server may provide storage for role A and role B, and provide processing for role A. The system 102 may also calculate the total cost of the virtual server.

At step 310, the system 102 stores the calculated cost for the first role in a data store. The system 102 may analyze the historical cost of the virtual server saved in the data store. The data store may be the CMDB 104 or the virtual server. In addition, the system 102 may determine the cost efficiency as, for example, cost per processing time and a threshold value based on the historical cost efficiency at step 216 of the process 200. For example, the virtual server may have a historical cost of $10 per month for resources to process the neural network training role. If the virtual server then costs $20 per month to perform the same role, the cost efficiency of the server may decrease, causing step 216 to be yes and causing system 102 to instantiate a new virtual server. The threshold may be based on a deviation from historical absolute costs or cost efficiencies.

FIG. 4 illustrates the steps of efficiency metric calculation process 400. In some embodiments, system 102 may perform process 400 in conjunction with step 214 of process 200 to determine the efficiency metric. In other embodiments, system 102 may perform process 400 continuously or at any time (including on demand). Process 400 includes the following steps.

At step 402, the system 102 filters the received indications of resource usage for multiple roles to determine resource usage associated with the first role. For example, the system 102 may filter the received indications by virtual server identifier, resource, or associated role. At step 404, the system 102 examines the filtered indications to determine resource usage associated with the first role. The system 102 may aggregate usage over a period of time, virtual servers, or providers, for example, to determine total resource usage associated with the first role. In some embodiments, the indications may be incorporated into various data structures to facilitate filtering and aggregation. For example, the data may be converted to a SQL database prior to process 400.

At step 406, system 102 filters the received indications of resource usage to determine the role with the lowest resource usage, and at step 408, filters the received indications of resource usage to determine the role with the highest resource usage. Steps 406 and 408 may further include an aggregation step for determining the total usage of each of the roles over a period of time to determine the overall lowest resource usage role and the highest resource usage role.

At step 410, the system 102 determines a first factor including resource usage associated with the first role minus resource usage associated with the role with the lowest resource usage. In other words, the system 102 determines the difference between the resource usage of the first role and the lowest resource usage among all roles. Additionally, at step 412, the system 102 determines a second factor including resource usage associated with the role with the highest resource usage minus resource usage associated with the role with the lowest resource usage. In this manner, the system 102 determines the range of resource usage of the roles being analyzed.

At step 414, the system 102 calculates an efficiency metric based on the first factor relative to the second factor. For example, the highest resource usage role may have an efficiency metric of 1, and the lowest resource usage role may have an efficiency metric of 0. The remaining roles may then have efficiency metrics ranging from 0 to 1. However, this example is provided for illustration, and the efficiency metric may have any range, such as 0 to 100.

In some embodiments, system 102 may use variations of steps 410 to 414 to further analyze or normalize indications of resource usage as part of computing an efficiency metric. Additionally, different variations may be used for different resources. For example, system 102 may determine a processor efficiency metric that reflects average CPU usage per week. System 102 may determine a first factor based on the natural logarithm of processor usage associated with a first role minus the natural logarithm of processor usage associated with a role with the lowest processor usage. System 102 may also determine a second factor based on the natural logarithm of processor usage associated with a role with the highest resource usage minus the natural logarithm of processor usage associated with a role with the lowest processor usage. System 102 may calculate the processor efficiency of the role based on the first factor relative to the second factor.

The system 102 may also determine a network efficiency metric that reflects a network ratio of the number of bytes processed or transferred per unit of currency in a week. The system 102 may determine a first factor based on the natural logarithm of the network ratio associated with the first role minus the natural logarithm of the network ratio associated with the role with the lowest processor usage. The system 102 may also determine a second factor based on the natural logarithm of the processor usage associated with the role with the highest resource usage minus the natural logarithm of the processor usage associated with the role with the lowest processor usage. The system 102 may calculate the processor efficiency metric based on the first factor relative to the second factor. The system 102 may also calculate a memory efficiency metric in a similar manner based on, for example, weekly average memory usage.

After calculating the efficiency metric using process 400, system 102 can determine whether the efficiency metric at step 216 of process 200 is below a threshold value. For example, the threshold value can be based on a standard or historical efficiency metric for the organization.

As an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented system for resource usage tracking includes a memory storing instructions and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions. The instructions cause the system to maintain a configuration file associated with a virtual server instance in a data storage, the configuration file including a list of services to be loaded. The system further determines an efficiency metric associated with the instantiated virtual server and terminates access to the virtual server when the efficiency metric is below a threshold value. The system also instantiates a new virtual server based on the virtual server instance by: locating a configuration file in a data store; determining required virtual server resources based on the contents of the configuration file; configuring at least one resource of the virtual server based on the contents of the configuration file, and accelerating the virtual server.

Although the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to specific embodiments of the disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosure may be practiced in other environments without modification. The foregoing description has been presented for illustrative purposes. The foregoing description is not exhaustive and is not limited to the precise forms or embodiments disclosed. Modifications and adaptations will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art from consideration of this specification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. In addition, although the disclosed embodiments are described as being stored in memory, a person skilled in the art will appreciate that such embodiments may also be stored on other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, such as hard disks or CD ROMs, or other forms of RAM or ROM, USB media, DVDs, Blu-ray, or other optical drive media.

Computer programs based on the written description and disclosed methods are within the skill of an experienced developer. Various programs or program modules may be created using any of the techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art or may be designed in conjunction with existing software. For example, program sections or program modules may be designed with or with the aid of .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (and related languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Java, C++, Objective-C, HTML, HTML/AJAX combinations, XML, or HTML containing Java applets.

Furthermore, although illustrative embodiments have been described herein, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understand the scope of any and all embodiments with equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., combinations of aspects in various embodiments), adaptations and/or changes based on this disclosure. Limitations in the claims should be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and are not limited to the examples described in this specification or during the prosecution of this application. Examples should be considered non-exclusive. Furthermore, the steps of the disclosed methods may include modifications in any manner by reordering the steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. Therefore, it is intended that this specification and examples be considered illustrative only, with the true scope and spirit indicated by the full scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

200: Process

202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 216, 218, 220: Steps

Claims (10)

A computer-implemented method for virtual server management, the computer-implemented method comprising: maintaining a configuration file associated with a virtual server instance; receiving a role associated with the virtual server instance; determining a required virtual server configuration based on the configuration file and the role; accelerating at least one virtual server based on the virtual server configuration; determining the at least one virtual server whether the at least one virtual server has reached an error state; based on determining that the at least one virtual server has reached an error state, determining whether the at least one virtual server is repairable; based on determining that the at least one virtual server is unrepairable, terminating access to the at least one virtual server; and accelerating at least one second virtual server based on the virtual server configuration. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further includes: determining a configuration file associated with the at least one virtual server based on determining that the at least one virtual server is unrepairable; and using the determined configuration file to accelerate the new virtual server. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further includes: determining an efficiency metric associated with the at least one virtual server; terminating access to the at least one virtual server when the efficiency metric is below a threshold value; determining a configuration file associated with the at least one virtual server; and using the determined configuration file to accelerate the new virtual server. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the virtual server configuration includes one or more of cache memory, storage memory, processing time, processing power, and network capacity. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the configuration file associated with the virtual server instance includes a list of storage volumes for installation. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the configuration file associated with the virtual server instance includes a list of services for loading. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the configuration file associated with the virtual server instance includes a list of virtual server requirements for storage and network resources. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprises: configuring the at least one virtual server to associate the role with at least one resource of the at least one virtual server; modifying a database to include an identifier associated with the virtual server and an identifier of the role; receiving multiple indications of resource usage costs associated with the identifier of the role; calculating a total cost of the received multiple indications; and storing the calculated total cost for the role in a data store. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 1, wherein the identifier associated with the at least one virtual server is an IP address. A computer-implemented system for virtual server management, the computer-implemented system comprising: a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions to perform the computer-implemented method described in any one of claim items 1-9.

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